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Chapter Four

It's been a week since Alless came back from the States. Business has resumed as usual. Nothing was the same. The joy of the things before—the huge house—nothing. There was something missing. His beloved parents, who doted on him, could see the subtle changes.

His smile that used to come to him naturally was now forced, and everyone around him could see that something was going on. "Alless, we need to talk”. Antonio Rossi called out to his son. Alless was clicking away on his laptop. “We have to talk”. His mother, Carla Rossi, chirped in. "Yes, mom, give me a few minutes, but can it wait? I have an important meeting to arrange, and the shareholders are coming in from the States. I really need to get ready, please." Alless continued to type away. "Ok, just until the meeting is over, we really need to talk. It's important". Antonio conceded. "Alright, Dad, let me finish this report; I will be right there". Alless wondered what his parents wanted to talk to him about. For all of his twenty-five years, he had never seen his parents so serious. Alless quickly got ready and stepped out of Rossi's mansion. Of course, with his right-hand man, Edwardo, who quickly ran after him while briefing him on the day’s meeting.

Scarlet woke up grudgingly after another sleepless night and decided to take a stroll to her favorite part of Montegomery’s mansion, the arctic, where all her childhood memories lay. Quickly climbing up the steep steps, Scarlet reached a well-arranged little room with not a speck of dust. “Thank you, Nana''. Scarlet said it in silent gratitude. If not for her, this place would not be this organized. Looking around, Scarlet scanned the little room with various articles, and her eyes landed on a quaint but beautiful-looking antique trunk. She moved closer. She has never seen anything like it before. It must have been put there recently, Scarlet surmised. She inched closer tenderly and touched the ornate carvings. The atmosphere in the dimly lit arctic became charged with a strange electricity, and Scarlet could feel a strong power surging into her. It felt as if she were being charged, and she could feel sparks flying from the ornate trunk to every part of her body. She tried to withdraw her hands from the trunk, but they seemed stuck. She tried but couldn't, and suddenly the lid of the box magically sprang open. Scarlet's hands were freed as the trunk opened. A dazzling light showed an eerie brightness that illuminated the whole arctic, and people from the mansion and the environs could see a strange light from the arctic.

Antonio and Diego, who were having a late-night drink on the balcony, saw the light from the arctic and looked at each other. It was happening, and there was nothing anybody could do now.

Scarlet, who felt the change in her, asked, “What's happening?" “Why am I feeling as if I am a new person?" While Scarlet was asking these questions, her physical appearance was changing, and her eyes, which normally were dreamy green, were turning gold. And she could feel something supernatural going on. “What do we have here?” Scarlet looked into the trunk and touched a neatly rolled, ancient-looking scroll. At a touch, the scroll unfurled, and the first thing she saw was ‘’AGREEMENT”. Scarlet did not wait to read the whole document but quickly shut the little trunk and ran down from the arctic to look for her father. What agreement? She wondered.  There were so many questions, and she needed answers fast. She hurriedly came down. Some servants in the hall were looking at her curiously. What Scarlet didn't know was that her facial appearance was completely changed, with the gold taking up almost the entire green of her eyes.

Alless had a grueling day with the shareholders from the states. Throughout the meeting, he kept wondering what important thing his parents were about to discuss with him.

''Edwardo, please get the files from the cabinet; I forgot I needed to sign them”. “Ok boss”. Edwardo, whose day had not been any different from that of Alless, moved to get files, feeling very tired. “That reminds me, Alless; you know we missed lunch. Can we grab a bite? I am starving," Edwardo demonstrated dramatically with a hand over his stomach. With that, Alless flashed a grin, and for the first time in weeks, Diego saw a flash in his friend's blue eyes. “I am sorry, Edwardo; I completely forgot. I can't believe we worked through that. Tell you what? Let's call it a day. You can grab a bite, but I promised Moma and Papa to have dinner with them". " Okay, that's fine with me". Edwardo responded with a chuckle. "I also had dinner arrangements but did not know how to broach the topic for fear that we would be working late as usual". Alless stood up and stretched his masculine body. Edwardo  handed him his jacket and briefcase. "Ciao! I will see you in the morning". Alless replied with a wave, walking out of his office towards his private elevators. His secretary, Vivian, was still busy with her laptop and was surprised to see him out at  this hour. She stood up abruptly at the sight of her boss. "Do I need to come with you, sir? Is there any meeting I am not aware of?"  "No,no, sit back down. I have a personal appointment, but you don't need to worry about that. Continue with what you were doing. Cancel all appointments  for  today and reschedule tomorrow. "Yes sir".  Vivian was overjoyed. She had never had such an off day since she started working here. Here was a chance to go to the beautiful beach she had always wanted to go to. She quickly tidied up her desk and skipped away happily.

Alless drove directly home and was surprised to see everyone waiting in the sitting room for him. "This must be more serious than I thought." Alless murmured under his breath. He passed his bag to Edwardo who had insisted on following him home despite his protests. Edwardo collected the bag  silently and took it to his apartment. "I thought this discussion would be over dinner; I missed lunch, so I was hoping to enjoy the dinner first. Mom, let's talk over dinner, please," Allessandro said exaggeratingly with a hand over his stomach. Antonio and Clarla Rossi looked at their only son, and their serious expressions eased. "Ok, Allessandro, come, let's talk over dinner." Everyone moved to the table. "Come, Amigo, let's fill your stomach first". Lorenzo slung his hand over his cousin's shoulders playfully and they moved to the dining area, where assorted meals were arranged on different platters by the servants, who were all standing by each chair, waiting to serve them.

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